Ryan Knauer arrived at the University of Houston-Downtown with a clear sense of purpose. After nearly eight years in the military, which included deployments overseas and leadership roles as a non-commissioned officer, his transition to civilian life brought a new challenge: redefining his path. 

That process led him back to the classroom.  

What’s followed has been a demanding academic journey, in which Knauer often balanced six to seven classes a semester with homeschooling his three children. However, the challenges have yielded dividends in lessons learned and connections made. “I like that at UHD, there's structured opportunity. Students are tested, but they're not broken. It's a place of discovery, where growth is intentional,” Knauer reflects. 

Along the way, Knauer has earned a Ted Bauer Scholarship—thanks to help from Kimberly Gleason, a Business, Marketing and Supply Chain Senior Lecturer, as his GI Bill benefits started to run out—has joined Association of Latino Professionals for America, and was inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society all while maintaining magna cum laude grades.  

While several members of the Marilyn Davies College of Business have made an impact on Knauer’s time here (particularly Dr. Taj Clark, Management Adjunct, and Glenn Hilman, Accounting and International Business Lecturer), it was a philosophy adjunct who transformed the way Knauer thinks. “Professor Ashton Snider changed 100% the way that I challenge ideas and how I challenge pretty much everything. I demand excellence now,” Knauer said. The experience pushed him to think more critically and approach problems with confidence. 

Although he is graduating, Knauer’s ties to UHD will only continue to strengthen, as he will start a master’s program at UHD in the fall. His wife, Melissa is currently pursuing a Management degree here, and his oldest son, Chayse, is starting as a freshman in the fall. What began as an individual decision to return to school has evolved into something larger: a shared pursuit of education, driven by purpose and sustained by family.  

Looking further ahead, Knauer’s goals are rooted in the same sense of purpose that brought him back to school. “I want to build durable systems that expand opportunities for others,” he said of his aspirations for the future. “UHD and the Ted Bauer Foundation invested in me so much, and I intend to invest back at scale.”